


Angel Showers Bring...

by Thursdays_Angel



Series: Being Human [2]
Category: Supernatural
Genre: Humor, Hurt/Comfort, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-07-17
Updated: 2014-07-17
Packaged: 2018-02-09 07:34:05
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,550
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1974303
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Thursdays_Angel/pseuds/Thursdays_Angel
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Castiel learns he must be smarter than the shower. The boys have a little heart to heart about his condition.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Angel Showers Bring...

            Castiel stood in the upstairs bathroom of Bobby’s house, new clothes in hand and preparing himself to take a shower. It was just one more thing to remind him of his powerless state. At first he hadn’t though it necessary but the hot weather and humidity, while also making it very uncomfortable, had proven Dean’s point about hygiene.

            He’d woken up covered in sweat from the heat, his hair greasy and once he’d realized the foul odor was coming from him he’d decided a shower was in order. Dean had told him that showers could be relaxing. For some reason he doubted it.

            He placed his clean clothes on the counter and looked to the razor and shaving cream then to his reflection in the mirror. Dean had made a passing comment at breakfast about starting to look like a mountain man. The hair along his cheeks and jaw had grown. Not a whole lot but if he didn’t do something about it he was going to end up with a full beard. He didn’t want that. Besides all of that extra facial hair _itched!_

            Running a hand through his hair (ugh he felt disgusting!) and making it stick up more in the process, Castiel turned back to the shower.

            The controls seemed simple enough. Hot, cold and a lever to make the water come out of the shower head. Castiel turned on the hot and pulled the lever, letting the water heat up while he got undressed.

            Steam rose, slowly beginning to fog over the mirror. He pulled the curtain back and stepped in. Then nearly killed himself flying back out. He tripped over the edge of the tub, falling backwards to the floor. While humans did not have a tail they did have a tail bone and landing on it hurt. He was lucky he didn’t crack his head open. The loud thud he made as he hit the floor most likely echoed throughout the house.

            Now, not only did his arms hurt from trying to brace his fall, but his legs from the knees down were on fire. He sat up, seeing the skin on his lower legs had turned an angry red. He glared up at the shower, how did humans stand bathing in such temperatures?

            “Cass,” Dean’s voice asked a second before the door opened, “you okay? I heard— Holy shit dude!”

            Castiel twisted around to look at Dean only to get a towel thrown in his face. Dean’s face nearly matched the color of Castiel’s legs. Castiel wrapped the towel around his waist, feeling his cheeks begin to burn. Apparently the human concept of modesty and embarrassment had rubbed off on him.

            With his back turned to Castiel Dean asked, “you okay?”

            “Yes.”

            “What happened? Why are you on the floor?” The unspoken ‘naked’ hung in the air.

            “I went to shower but when I stepped in, the water…” Castiel searched for the right words, finally settling on, “burned.”

            Dean hesitantly turned around. The fog in the bathroom had gotten thicker, even with the door opened. He helped Castiel to his feet. “Just how hot did you make it?” He asked, stepping around Castiel to test the water himself. He let out a hiss of pain, pulling his hand back quickly. “Geeze Cass, you’re not supposed to make the water as hot as it can possibly go.” He reached into the shower again, adjusting the controls.

            “I did not want to shower in cold water,” Castiel explained. While normally temperature did not affect him now that he was human temporarily, he had come to discover that he did not like being cold. At all.

            “You use both the hot and cold to regulate the temperature,” Dean explained. “How’s that?”

            Tentatively Castiel put his hand under the running water. While it was hot it was no longer at a temperature that hurt. “Much better,” he replied. “Thank you Dean.”

            “No problem,” Dean backed away. His cheeks were possibly redder now than they had been earlier. While his face was towards Castiel Dean’s gaze was located somewhere over Castiel’s shoulder. “If you need anything else, you know, just yell.”

            “I will.”

            “Try not to kill yourself this time.” Dean left the bathroom, the door closing with a soft click.

            Placing the towel beside his clothing Castiel turned back to the shower and climbed in. The water had cooled a bit since he’d checked it so he adjusted the controls for more hot water slightly. After a bit of trial and error he finally found a temperature he liked.

            He quickly washed himself using the products Dean had bought for him. Something called Old Spice because, “Axe smells like ass and only douche bags use it,” according to Dean.

            He discovered, much to his dismay, that soap hurt when it got into your eyes. It also tasted awful. Not that he had been trying to eat it but what went into his eyes also went into his mouth. Why humans tortured themselves with such things was beyond him.

            Deeming himself clean Castiel shut the water off and got out of the shower. He dressed, putting on a new pair of jeans and looking at the shirt he thought that perhaps he had grabbed one of Dean’s by mistake. AC/DC was written in red stylized letters with a lightning bolt between the C and D. Shrugging, he put the shirt on.

            His next obstacle was shaving. Unfortunately he no longer had access to Jimmy’s memories. When he had been killed by Raphael Jimmy’s soul had gone to Heaven. It had not returned when Castiel had been brought back. He could have used his vessel’s knowledge. There were times when Castiel wished he had learned more from Jimmy. Especially when trying to understand Dean’s pop-culture references.

            Some things did linger though. He filled the sink with warm water. He squirted some shaving cream into his hand, watching the gel begin to foam once it was exposed to the air. Placing it over the area he planned to shave he rinsed his hands then began the task of removing the unwanted facial hair.

* * *

            After helping Castiel regulate the water temperature in the shower Dean had gone back down into the kitchen and gotten himself a cup of coffee. He may or may not have spiked it before sitting down at the table.

            Dean had become concerned when he’d heard Castiel fall. He’d nearly had a heart attack when he’d opened the door to see Cass sitting naked on the floor. He felt his face begin got heat at the thought. Talk about an embarrassing moment. He shook his head, forcing the image from his mind. He _really_ needed to stop thinking about it.

            Taking another sip of his not quite coffee Dean’s attention was caught by the sound of footsteps headed towards the kitchen. He looked over just in time to see Cass walk in. It was weird seeing the angel wearing something other than his normal holy tax accountant getup. He knew he’d made a good choice in throwing in the AC/DC shirt.

            Dean froze when he got a good look at Cass’s expression. The angel looked like he was about to smite something. There were also little pieces of toilet paper dotted all across the angel’s jaw.

            Apparently his mouth missed the memo from his brain to shut up because, “Damn Cass, you get into a fight with a lawn mower?”

            A pair of piercing blue eyes glared at him. Dean felt a shiver race up his spine. Cass may not have access to his mojo at the moment but he was still a scary son of a bitch.

            Castiel pulled out a chair and sat, crossing his arms and continuing to glower. He looked… and why did ‘adorable’ come to mind?

            “I was not involved in a fight.”

            “You sure? ‘Cause your face begs to differ.”

            Castiel’s gaze was fully trained on him now. _Smooth move Winchester,_ he thought. If anything his words seemed to make Castiel sulk even more. Wait a minute, Castiel was sulking! Dean had only meant to tease in fun. Surprisingly he found himself apologizing, “sorry.”

            “I have never been required to shave before Dean,” Castiel sounded so defeated it made every protective instinct Dean had stand up and take notice. “Nor shower. I am glad you find my predicament entertaining.”

            And was that sarcasm? “No Cass that’s not—” Yeah sure, he’d gotten a few laughs out of it but he’d never meant to hurt his friend. “I’m sorry Cass. I didn’t mean… I was trying to cheer you up. You know me, I tease. I never meant to… hurt you.”

            Castiel’s tense muscles seemed to loosen. “I know this and I… appreciate it Dean but,” he uncrossed his arms, turning to lean against the table. “This,” Castiel gestured to himself, “Is not me. Not really. Though I have grown accustomed to this appearance it is not me.” His voice dropped to barely above a whisper. “It will never be me.”

            Dean had never thought about that. While he knew that Cass was processing Jimmy Novak (was the guy even still in there?) he was so used to looking at him and seeing Cass. Dean felt a pang of sadness knowing that he would never be able to see what Castiel really looked like.

            Dean felt like a complete dick now. He also hated the air of sadness that had fallen over his friend. He knew he had to cheer Castiel up. That was his current mission.

            “I know this sucks for you, royally. But, think of this as a learning experience. We know it isn’t gonna last forever.” He reached across the table, picking a piece of toilet paper from Cass’s jaw. “And I may have made a mistake on just letting you have at it with a razor. Sorry ‘bout that.” And maybe the morning had been a disaster but he’d make it up to the angel. “There are so many things you can try. Being human can be fun, lots and lots of fun.”

            Also, since Castiel had mentioned his true form Dean’s curiosity had been peeked, again. “About how you look. We both know I’ll never be able to see it, not unless I want my eyes burned out.” Which sucked because he was willing to bet good money that Cass looked freaking awesome. “Maybe you could, I don’t know, describe what you look like to me.”

            Castiel’s eyes lit up momentarily. He ran a hand over his face, dislodging all but a couple of pieces of toilet paper. His gaze fell to his hands. “I would not know where to begin.”

            “I have all the time in the world.” Dean decided to firmly ignore the looming apocalypse.

            Castiel remained silent. Dean decided not to push the matter. After what seemed like a long period of time Castiel began to speak.

            “Angel’s are genderless though we are able to take on a gendered appearance. We look like human’s do in many ways.”

            “Do you have wings?” Dean knew it was a stupid question the second it passed his lips. “What I meant was, can you actually see them?”

            “Yes,” Castiel replied.

            When Castiel didn’t continue Dean found himself filled with suspense. “Dude you’re killing me here. And that is a figure of speech.” Dean leaned forward, knowing full well he was acting like an overly curious child but he didn’t care. He really wanted to know what his angel looked like.

            Wait, what?

            Oh to Hell with it. He wasn’t about to had a crisis about calling Castiel his. It was true, just as it was true that he belonged to Castiel. He even had the mark on his shoulder to prove it.

            “I have always had a male appearance. Many of us tend to look like our true vessels.”

            “Oh,” that was interesting information. “You stalling now because I still don’t know what you look like. You haven’t given me enough details. What’s your true vessel look like?”

            Castiel’s lips twitched, almost like he was about to smile but stopped himself. “Jimmy is my true vessel.”

            “I’m confused now,” Dean said. “I thought you just said that angels look like their true vessels.”

            “I said we tend to, it is not always the case. Michael and Lucifer do not look like you and Sam.”

            That was nice to know. It was kind of throwing Dean that while Cass had been the one to bring up his true form he hadn’t really given him much to work with. All Dean could picture was how he looked now only with wings. This also seemed to be depressing Cass more than cheering him up.

            “If you don’t really want to talk about this Cass, you don’t have to.”

            Castiel gave a brief nod before standing from the table and leaving the room.

            That had not been what Dean was expecting.

* * *

            After putting on his coat Castiel left Bobby’s house to wander the salvage yard. The light drizzle felt good against his skin. He didn’t know why Dean’s query into his true form had upset him so. Maybe it had to do more with the fact that he was more comfortable in this form, as if it had always been him, unlike his brothers and sisters who would change their forms to be that of their current vessel. Few kept their “normal” appearance. Castiel could never remember seeing himself as anything other than as he was now for an extended period of time. True while a few of his former vessels had been female he’d always felt uncomfortable looking any way other than himself.

            Thinking on it there really was no reason for him to be as upset as he was.

            A few parts of his face stung occasionally when it was hit by the rain. And then he realized his anger had come from. He was a celestial being. He has been alive for millions, even billions, of years and he didn’t know how to do something as simple as shave? All of the knowledge he processed and none of it helped.

            The rain had started to come down harder now. Castiel tilted his face up towards it. It felt refreshing, the smell of fresh rain mixed with the scents of the salvage yard was oddly relaxing. Now this was a shower he understood. Taking a breath and deciding he did not like the feel of wet clothes plastered to his skin he headed back to the house.

            He was surprised to see Dean standing on the porch waiting for him.

            Dean huffed a laugh, “You look like a drowned rat Cass.”

            “I in no way resemble a rodent, drowned or not.” Mirth reflected in Dean’s green eyes. “That was another of your figures of speech wasn’t it?”

            “Yep,” Dean gestured towards the house with his head. “Come on, Bobby’s back and he’d like your help with his research.”

            Castiel stepped up onto the porch, water dripping from his hair and clothing to puddle on the floor.

            Dean shook his head. “Looks like you didn’t need that shower after all.” His lips twisted into a smile. “I’ll get a towel.”

            Castiel looked up towards the heavens again and sighed.

**Author's Note:**

> Comments are always welcome.


End file.
